Sonny Chiba Retires From Stylish Ass-Kicking

Action icon Shinichi "Sonny" Chiba announced his retirement from action thesping under his Japanese stage name at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, citing his age, 68, and physical decline. He also said that he intends to teach at his alma mater, Nippon Sport Science University, and launch his own acting school in Japan.

Chiba said he realized he'd reached his limit filming a period drama for pubcaster NHK in July. Required to wear a heavy suit of armor for his role of warlord Itagaki Nobukata, Chiba suffered an asthma attack. "Itagaki died (in the drama) -- now I want to bury 'Shinichi Chiba' as well," he told reporters.

Starting next year, Chiba will be a guest instructor at Nippon Sport Science University. Also, next month he will start taking applications for a Japanese branch of his LA-based acting school, Thousand Leaves Hollywood. (The Chinese characters in "Chiba" can be read as "Thousand Leaves.") Chiba said he intends to expand the school to six cities nationwide, as well as join with Hong Kong action legend Jackie Chan to launch schools for future action stars in Beijing and Shanghai. "I'd like to train many young people and pass on the name 'Shinichi Chiba' to one of them," he said. Chiba also said he would continue to act under his real name. Sadaho Maeda, and his international stage name, Sonny Chiba.

In 1970 Chiba started another school for action thesps, Japan Action Club (JAC), training future international star Hiroyuki Sanada, but withdrew from its management in 1991. He currently runs an acting school, Thousand Leaves Hollywood, out of his LA home.

Born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1939, Chiba made his screen debut in 1959. In the 1970s he rose to global stardom in karate action pics as the Japanese answer to Bruce Lee . Recent pics include "Kill Bill Vol. 1" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift."

Sourc: Variety, MARK SCHILLING

JAPAN EXPO LONDON 21st -22nd of JULY

Whether you end up taking photos of a reproduction Eiffel Tower, surfing an indoor wave, musing in a Zen temple, or sleeping in a capsule hotel, you need to visit Japan with an open mind and be prepared to be surprised.

Somewhere between the elegant formality of Japanese manners and the candid, sometimes boisterous exchanges that take place over a few drinks, between the shopping malls and the unexpected rural festivals, everyone finds their own vision of Japan a beautiful country both modern and traditional.

JapanEX London will give consumers a glimpse of what they can expect when they choose to visit Japan.

JapanEX London will hope to have a selection of Japanese food, drink and traditions including demonstrations, food & drink sampling.

Simple Traditional Foods. Sushi - Domburi - Onigiri - Soba - Udon. Tea - Sake - Happoshu - Shochu.

From Aikijujutsu, Aikido, Kenjutsu, Kendo, Ninjutsu, Shorinji Kempo, the list is endless. Martial Arts have proven over the centuries to be a major influence in the culture and traditions of Japan. Experience some of these at JapanEX London.

Japanese fashion has a major influence on European trends with many new & old styles breaking through to the mainstream market. Elegant Gothic Lolita Fashion is one of the more recognisable styles as well as a look known as Street Fashion. Fashion at JapanEx London hopes to bring you the new and best labels in the UK or to import from Japan.

From gadgets to gizmos, Japan has it all. Japan has proven time & time again that it can create and adapt today's and create tomorrow's technology. If it's new and fun it mostly likely started development in Japan. See the latest at JapanEx London.

Games, Games and more Games, from GameBoy, DS, DS Lite to PSP and beyond.... Japan leads the way with some of the greatest titles ever released. JapanEX London will feature the latest games.

Kimono and Yukata traditional Japanese clothing, Geisha, Tea ceremony (Sado), Karesansui Gardens (dry gardens) are all strong traditions of Japan. These and many more will be represented or displayed at JapanEX London.

Modern Japanese Popular Culture has it's routes in films, television programs, comics, and music. Some expressions of modern Japanese pop culture are Manga, Karaoke, J-Rock and Kawaii which stands for 'Cute'.

There are countless types of classical music in Japan, none more striking than Taiko (Japanese Drums) however Modern Japan has an affinity with bubblegum pop and J-Pop. They are some of the best-selling forms of music, and are often used in films and television, especially in Japanese animation. J-Rock has a huge following and is not defined by its sound (which may or may not be "rock" music) but by the appearance of the bands.

Manga is the Japanese word for comics and print cartoons. Outside of Japan, it usually refers specifically to Japanese comics. Manga developed from a mixture of ukiyo-e and foreign styles of drawing, and took its current form shortly after World War II. It comes mainly in black and white, except for the covers and sometimes the first few pages. The huge following for Manga has lead to the explosion of the Animation industry in Japan which is known as 'ANIME' All of the major UK distributors for Manga & Anime will be at JapanEX London.


For more information and tickets go to

http://www.mcmexpo.net/japanexlondon/showinfo.shtml